The Vicious Gods Wrath

Chapter 20: War Fronts Part 4

Caves Outside West City

"Is... is he coming...?" 17 whispers the question to his sister as they lean against a large stalagmite protruding out of the ground. Breathing raspily, he clutches at his left, limp arm and tries to ignore the pain of a dozen small cuts all over his person. His sister, by comparison, fares a bit better if only due to all of her limbs functioning perfectly. Not that it will make much of a difference without a plan, not against Aka. The fused being quickly turned the tide of the battle in his favor, forcing them into a messy retreat to a vast system of caverns underneath the cliffside, a lucky discovery that has saved them so far.

But for how much longer?

Time loses all sense when you're tired, afraid and lost in an isolated place like this. Neither of them can say for certain how long they've been scurrying about or more importantly, where their enemy is. For someone as subtle as an exploding sun, Aka is doing a damn fine job keeping his presence hidden. Try as they might, neither of them can hear or in the case of 18, can tell where he is. Is he still roaming the caverns with a surprising level of cunning? Or has he joined up with the horned leader of this invasion up above? Helping him tear Piccolo piece by piece?

18 pushes that particular thought aside, if it turned out to be true, then they were screwed regardless if Aka dies down here or not.

"No, I don't think he is," She whispers back, peeking over the stalagmite ever so slightly. Her eyes dart around in the dark, hauntingly quiet cave around them but still, nothing registers. "But he'll find us soon enough, and I don't think we'll be able to get away from him again."

"Please tell me his fusions got a timer on it,"

"Like Goten and Trunks?" She shakes her head. "No dice. These guys can stay fused indefinitely if they want to. And since we were beating them separately, I doubt they'll turn back just to make it easier for us."

"Yeah... I didn't think so..." 17 slips the bandana perpetually tied around his neck off and ties it around a particularly nasty looking cut to his leg. "How I wish I was back in the forest right about now..."

18 smiles. "Oh, so you'd be totally fine with me fighting these guys by myself and probably getting killed?"

Despite their situation, he can't help but chuckle at her sarcasm. "Of course, I wouldn't sis. It's just that I signed up for a free baseball game in the nosebleed section, not fighting an alien invasion."

"Your brother-in-law is Krillin so you were bound to get involved in one sooner or later." She points out, half-joking half-serious. Frankly, it's a miracle you've been out of the action for so long."

An awkward silence follows, with only the occasional sounds of dripping water from the many stalactites above their heads and their own faint breathing. "We'll have to figure out a plan to take him out," 17 recommends, knowing that they can't stay hidden here forever. Especially if Aka did, in fact, team up with his partner to take out Piccolo. "I don't suppose you learned some moves from Krillin over the years?"

"I do actually, but it's been years since I've tried it, and I only ever did it right once."

"But you think it can kill this guy, right?"

"Definitely," She answers with certainty to mask her own uneasiness about straight up killing them. From Krillin, she learned of her own alternate counterparts murderous, decades-long rampage, a particularly nasty revelation which put her off from any more trouble making. At least, of the lethal kind. Then there's the situation with the brothers. Despite starting off on the wrong foot, they parted ways with everyone on amicable terms, but their declarations of feeling humiliated along with the knowledge that they're Androids now makes her pity the two of them. They're just being manipulated the way Gero tried to do to her and 17.

Still, with the Dragon Balls readily available, two sets of them no less, they can sort this mess out in no time.

Elsewhere

"Ow!" Yelps Aka after accidentally hitting his head on a stalactite, his scream echoing throughout the nearby section of the vast cave system. He floats back a bit, rubbing his head wound before smacking the rock away the same way you'd swat an obnoxious fly. The injury itself is beyond minor for someone of his caliber, yet even the strongest of beings can get ticked off by the equivalent of stubbing your toe.

This would be so much easier if I could just blow this damn place up, He considers doing so, and not for the first time since arriving in this damned place. With his power, he could easily send everything within a vast radius straight into oblivion, where no hiding place can save 17 and 18 from his wrath.

A very tempting scenario which he knows deep down he can't do. For he knows Shisami is close by, battling Piccolo right over his head on the cliffs and an explosion strong enough to wipe away the whole cave system would likely cause his partner to get caught in the blast.

What if he accidentally leaves Shisami open to a fatal blow? What if his attack hurts Shisami along with all of their enemies? Once upon a time, he wouldn't have thought twice about doing so, but seeing as the red giant is the closest thing he, and the two people making him up, have to a friend, he stays his hand, letting the explosive temptation to die down and leave his thoughts.

He presses onward, keeping his eyes and ears sharp for any sign of his prey but for one accustomed to the ability of ki sensing, this is a frustrating exercise. Specifically, since his own advantage of being undetectable protects 17 and 18 from him. An ironic little twist of fate Aka doesn't find amusing in the slightest.

Wandering on and on, the sheer monotony of this whole game of cat and mouse sends him into a state of relaxed boredom, one he feels he can afford thanks to the vast gap in power between himself and the lurking duo. His mind starts to wander to the day they first encountered the mighty warriors of Earth. How they deemed them both so weak they sent their children to fight them, both of whom smashed them into the dirt with a pair of lazy punches. Even after the brothers fused, their humiliation persisted with the children also fusing an easily outclassing them once more. In a last ditch effort to win, Aka tried to destroy them all but one of the Earthlings older fighters defeated him with a single punch to the gut.

Then they all laughed at the defeated brothers as they laid on the ground, forcing them to beg for scraps of food like dogs. A situation which only stuck with them even on Planet Tech-Tech, only this time under the heel of Prince Tarble. It's only when several slabs of rock suddenly explode into pieces that Aka realize's he's inadvertently lost control of his powers. That's when he remembers how Lord Freeza saved them from the vicious Tarble, giving them a chance at revenge.

Suddenly, Aka doesn't feel quite so angry anymore, not until a distinct, cocky voices echoes throughout the caves. "Hey, fat boy! Catch us if you can!"

A series of explosions come to life deeper inside the cave system, causing the whole place to quiver. Suspecting a trap but with no other way of quickly finding his prey, Aka decides to take the bait, rushing towards the perceived source of the noise. As he draws closer and closer, so too does the intensity of the blasts and their frequency,

Eventually, he reaches the source of it all, only for it to suddenly die down. Leaving only the occasional dripping specks of water in the newly restored silence. He hovers in the middle of the cavern, turning around and examining the place as much as he can for any signs of his enemy. That's when he hears a humming noise. Instinctively, he ducks, narrowly avoiding the ki ball sent his way courtesy of 17 before jabbing his foot back, nearly hitting the Earth android who back flips out of its way.

"Oh! So close!" The taunt prompts Aka to spun around, unleashing a mouth beam an intentionally slow mouth beam. As expected, the Earth Android manages to fly over it in time. "So, so close- "

Appearing behind him, Aka delightfully rams his fist into the back of 17s head, smashing him into the waters below. He allows 17 a momentary gasp of air before grabbing his skull and forcing it back into what will hopefully become his watery grave soon.

"Not so cocky now are you?!" He taunts the struggling 17 as he flays his arms and legs in the air in a vain attempt to break free. When he notices the squirming dying down, he lets him up to breathe. "Can't let you die on me just yet, I still need to find that lying sister of yours."

Instead of fear or terror or pleading, 17s response is a fit of vicious, strangled laughing, the kind one would easily mistake as belonging to someone who's lost their mind. Too late does Aka realize the true purpose behind the laugh, approximately the moment when a seething pain sends his body into a numb state of shock. A disk of yellow ki flies through the air, slicing through several stalactites before finally dissipating.

Raising an eyebrow at his statement, Aka starts to submerge 17s head once more when a sudden, horrid pain freezes him in place. Blinking wildly, he spots a yellow disk of ki flies from behind to the front of him, slicing through several rocks before dissipating. A gurgle of blood and a strained gasp of pain leave his lips as the top half of his body finally snaps away from the bottom one.

A pair of footsteps reverberate through the water, drawing closer bleeding out Aka, with a slow jerkiness of his movements, he sees 18 standing above him. Her index finger glowing with a faint ball of ki trained to his powerless head. As he observes her in his final moments, Aka sees through the detached expression plastered across her face, finding something he didn't expect from one of his ruthless tormentors: genuine pity.

"I'm sorry," the flash of energy blinds him until the dark curtain of death whisks him away, ending all his pain and troubles.

"You okay?" 18 puts her brother's arm around her neck, carefully helping him back to his feet.

"Ugh... yeah..." He coughs out blood and water, barely able to keep his eyes open. "I might need one of those... beans you guys got after this..."

"I'll be sure to get you the best of the batch." She jokes, earning a genuine but pained chuckle out of him. Knowing he's probably in no condition to fly himself, she does it for him and gets but a few feet off the ground when a beeping noise gets their attention.

They both turn around to check the source of the noise, they find it to be coming from the bodies of the dead Aka. Their eyes widen in shock as they realize that the PTO truly did adopt Gero's technology in every possible way they could: bombs made as a last resort to kill a target even after the Androids death.

"Oh sh-"

Outskirts of West City

"D-damn! What the hell was that?!" Piccolo curses the sudden explosion and the mountain of dirt, grass, and rock accompanying it. But most of all, he curses the buzzing noise assaulting his sensitive ears. For without his ki sense, this has been the one thing allowing him to compensate for it in his struggle against the PTO leader, Shisami, now the giant could be right behind him, ready and able to cleave his head off and he wouldn't be able to tell.

Instead, Piccolo chooses to remain inside this rising pillar of noise and perpetually growing smoke, keeping his energy firmly suppressed and focusing his attention on pushing through the buzzing leaving him half-deaf.

"It appears they've gotten themselves killed," He hears Shisami faintly to the east. "Do not worry my friends, with the Dragon Balls, I will restore you all in good time."

So they know about the Dragon Balls, and it looks like his partners are gone too, Then a question he should've asked himself pops into his head: if Abo and Kado are dead, where the hell are 17 and 18? Were they caught in this explosion? Were they the cause of it? Or did the brothers suicidally try to take the brother and sister down with them?

Piccolo can't say for certain, not yet, not until his own battle is done.

Creating a small band of clones inside the smoke cloud, Piccolo sends them out first to the approximate spot where he last heard Shisami. Thanks to the whooshing of arms and legs rippling through the air, he more accurately pinpoints Shisami's location and with a kiai, sends the all-consuming smoke cloud in PTO leader's direction. Even an Android needs to breathe it seems, for Shisami's coughing is like a sweet tune to Piccolo's hastily recovering ears.

Sensing the downfall of his meager clone brigade, Piccolo reaches his target as fast as he can and loosens the muscles around his left arm, using it to ensnare the upper half of Shisami's whole body like a python. With the other arm, he releases a one-handed Masenko right into the PTO soldiers face, then reels him back for another, then another, and so on and so forth.

Just as Piccolo prepares to smash his burned face again, Shisami narrowly avoided mouth beam gives him just enough time to power up and shatter out of Piccolo's grasp. With a sickening crunching noise, Piccolo's jaw suffers a powerful, almost shattering blow. He has little time to consider the damage, for a wave of red energy comes down on him like an avalanche, destroying all of Piccolo's momentum and forcing him firmly into a retreat.

By the time he force's the wave of energy to the side, a far more powerful attack lies in store for him. Shisami's blood red aura gathers in-between his horns, creating a pulsating sphere of raw destructive power Piccolo has no hope of evading or blocking, all he can do is meet it and hope he can overpower it.

Placing his hands a few inches apart from each other, electrical discharges from in-between his hands and all around his body, the veins all over his body popping out as he channels his energy.

"Let's see how you fare against my ultimate technique!" Proclaims Shisami just as Piccolo's Flash Grenade completes itself.

With their attacks ready, the two combatants fire them both off at each other. The balls collide, seemingly merging into a larger, white colored one before finally detonating in a flash of blinding white energy.

Piccolo and Shisami both place their arms in front of their heads, shielding themselves as they're also caught in the explosion. The Super Namek finds himself smacked against a nearby rock, clinging to it as the wind sends anything that isn't nailed down miles into the air. Shisami, by comparison, finds himself launched into the ocean, protected from most of the after effects of their attacks colliding.

The cliff-side lies destroyed in the wake of this explosion, resembling a vast collection of boulders stacked on top of each other than anything else. What few trees were present now either burned or blown away as a consequence of the battles here.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Piccolo sits leaned against the wall, panting heavily from using up a significant portion of energy to counteract Shisami's attack. A problem only made worse by the near certainty of the PTO leader having an infinite energy generator, allowing him to fight as long as possible while Piccolo's stamina crumbles with each moment of this battle. A stamina he's used up considerably just to survive that last attack. Even Piccolo's regeneration can only stave off the various injuries up to a point, if he loses an arm or a leg, it may well be over for him.

"Don't tell me you're done yet Piccolo!" Shisami's taunt echoes throughout the surrounding area. "This fight is far too entertaining for you to surrender now!"

The Namekian merely scowls at him, in no mood for talking. Instead, he vanishes from sight and appears before the red giant, delivering a powerful enough kick to his face to send him crashing back to the ground. He fires off a series of ki blasts at the downed PTO soldier who merely back flips out of their way.

Shisami quickly changes the tune, instead of dodging, he flies directly at Piccolo, taking the hits and quickly closing the distance between them. Catching a punch directed to his face, he applies some extra pressure and with a smirk, crushes Piccolo's hand. Before he can even let out a pained yell, a head butt silences the Namekian. In response, Piccolo fries Shisami's face with a pair of electrical discharges from his antenna.

"Argh!" Shisami staggers back, leaving himself wide up for an uppercut to the chest from Piccolo. With his mangled fingers quickly healing, Piccolo takes a hold of his enemies horns and applies enough pressure to force him to his knees. With an inhuman shout, a wide beam of energy bursts from the depths of the Namekian's stomach and covers most of Shisami's head and chest, melting the chest piece of his suit to ash, clinging it to his artificial flesh. Only Shisami's pained screams overtake Piccolo's perpetual, guttural roaring.

With a knee to the blackened face of Shisami, Piccolo lets him drop to the ground. With a disdain spit, at the site of this invader and his ruined visage, Piccolo prepares one final attack to finish him off and hopefully this whole attack on Earth once and for all. "Makanko-"

Shisami's eyes suddenly and almost comically open, releasing an Eye Flash just strong enough to momentarily break Piccolo's concentration and blind him. Another sickening crunch, this time accompanied by a horrid pain from his stomach area sends Piccolo into a fit of pained screaming. He looks down and sees Shisami's fist ramming into the flesh of his chest, his fingers flexing then tighten inside, increasing the agony.

"I must admit Piccolo, you had me quite worried there for a moment," Shisami smirks despite the charred flesh on his face. "Had you fired your attack a moment sooner, you'd have surely secured your victory. But unfortunately for you, I was quicker."

A wave of ki erupts from Shisami's fingers and effortlessly shreds Piccolo's inside, all the Namekian can do is scream and fall to the ground, clutching the bleeding hole where his stomach used to be. The PTO soldier takes off into the air with the pulsating of his red aura, and just as before the energy focuses on the space in-between his horns into a perpetually growing sphere of energy, one growing larger and larger with each passing moment.

Fighting through the pain and through great concentration and force of will, Piccolo manages to charge another attack to the tips of his fingers, a desperate move that may not even work, but one he has to do if he intends to leave the ruins of the cliffside alive. Patiently, he waits for Shisami's ball to grow bigger and bigger to maximize the potential damage to him but to also give himself enough time to complete his own attack.

The second he notices Shisami's aura slow down its converging into the ball, Piccolo attacks.

"MAKANKOSAPPO!" He declares, forcing his right hand up with all the strength his weakened body can allow and fires off a much weaker version of his signature attack. Shisami's smirk is once again wiped off his face and he prepares to tilt his head to avoid the attack, to his shock, it doesn't go for that, it goes for the left horn. Slicing it in half, the red giant winces in pain just as Piccolo's arm simply slumps back onto the ground.

Judging by the look on Shisami's face, Piccolo realize's he's won and that his enemy has lost, for the gathered energy is too strong to simply dissipate now, no, instead it compresses in on itself. Growing smaller and smaller until it's barely larger than a Senzu Bean, then, it explodes outward and this time, Piccolo doesn't have the strength to ward off the welcome embrace of unconsciousness from taking hold of him.

"Wake up!" He hears a muffled voice call out to him in the darkness, a horrid buzzing noise assaulting his ears not for the first time today. He lets out a tired series of moans, his arms weakly and randomly reaching out to anything they can. "Come, one green man, you can do it!"

Piccolo moans again, this time recognizing the voice more clearly. "17...?" He asks in the half-daze. His vision starts coming back to him, the whole world appearing like a messy blur as if someone splashed water on his face. With a few more blinks, it clears up, revealing a battered and bruised 17 kneeling next to him. Slowly, he gets back on his feet with some assistance from the Android. Thankfully, the hole in his chest has healed, even if it has left the rest of him feeling tired and greatly deprived of strength.

Piccolo looks around to find nothing but rubble all around him, the whole area laid to waste thanks to the three explosions occurring in it. A grim desolation wrought by all of this fighting, but not a pointless one. If he's still alive, and so are 17 and 18, that means they've won.

"How long have I been out?"

"Beats me," Shrugs 17. "Me and sis were out of commission when that fast bastard blew himself up. By the time we woke up we found you lying on the ground burned to hell. Even I thought you were dead for a minute there, but your body started healing pretty fast."

Not for the first time in his life, Piccolo is thankful for his body's healing ability. He looks around for 18, noticing her absence until the sight of West City leaves him gawking and speechless. Over half of it is gone, vaporized with the few buildings left standing being damaged and surely on the brink of crumbling to the ground. A heavy cloud of smoke now fills the air, completely obscuring the setting sun behind the ruins of the city.

"An explosion went off there," 17 speaks up, snapping Piccolo out of his trance. "When we got to you we saw it go off. Sis went to go check on Krillin and the others and left me here to make sure you didn't croak in your sleep."

Piccolo focuses what energy he has left into sensing the others and to his relief, he finds them alive but weak, very weak. Surely in no better shape than him. He takes a step forward then almost falls back down on the ground were it not for 17 catching him on the way down. "T-thanks."

"Don't mention it, but damn, you're heavier than you look, you know that?"

The Namek ignores his comment. "Let's get over there."

Knowing he'll get no banter from the Namekian, 17 silently obliges and the two float over to the city. As they cross the ocean separating the cliff-side from the city, Piccolo hears the honking of cars to their right and notices a caravan of people leaving over the hills. "The others must've gotten them out of the city."

Recognizing the epicenter of the explosion by the massive number of dead PTO soldiers lying there, the two descend to the ground. At their feet, they find at least over a hundred dead invaders. Some missing one or more body parts with a handful even sliced-in-half, no doubt Krillin's handy work as recognized by Piccolo. In the center of this graveyard, they spot the Earth warriors lying there, unconscious and barely breathing.

"Come on!" Yells 17, running over the dead aliens as if they were nothing but rocks littering the ground. Piccolo takes a more reserved approach, noticing the absence of Android 18 immediately. He spots Krillin lying there and even through her cold exterior, she wouldn't waste a moment getting him help first. Yet there he lies, and she's nowhere to be seen.

17 puts Chiaotzu over his shoulder and takes Tien by the arm. To his surprise, Piccolo merely looks around, suspicious of the situation. "Hey!" The Android yells out to him. "Quit standing there and lets these guys some help-"

A piercing red beam of energy cuts through 17s chest taking both him and Piccolo off guard. The Namekian can't even reach out to him or shout out when a kiai knocks him off the ground with 17 suffering the worst of it. Piccolo merely falls, while the Android spins across the air, smashing into what's left of a two-story house and never emerging from the rubble.

Forcing himself through the fatigue plaguing his body, Piccolo leaps back to his feet and enters his combat stance when a loud whipping noise catches his attention. That's when he sees him: Freeza, smirking and looking down on him from above as he holds an unconscious 18 by the throat. With a flick of his wrists, he tosses her aside like a sack of trash. Slowly and deliberately, like a leopard closing in on its wounded and dying pray, he hovers over to Piccolo.

"You... you're dead... Gohan... He killed you..." Piccolo takes a few involuntary steps back, for something about Freeza erupts a primordial, all-encompassing fear to send shivers across his whole body. A feeling he hasn't felt since...

"Merely a decoy created for the sole purpose of throwing you off from my true resurrection,"

Fighting back this inexplicable terror, Piccolo stands his ground, glaring at Freeza with sheer disdain. Not that it matters to the chuckling psychopath before him.

"Still, credit where credit is due, you were the only one of these imbeciles to even suspect some sort of foul play. A pity you didn't dig deeper, if you had, this city, your friends, and even your apprentice would all be well today."

Piccolo's hands close into fists, his blood boiling at his own foolishness, the others utter disregard for the whole matter but most of all, the thought of Gohan suffering again at Freeza's hands. Ignoring all injuries and reason, he charges towards Freeza and delivers a chop to his neck. It doesn't even manage to move the tyrant an inch. He merely chuckles at the Namekian's efforts before grabbing his arm and ripping it off from the elbow down.

"How nostalgic," Freeza comments as he casually flings Piccolo's torn off arm piece away. The Namekian screams, clenching his bleeding limb before being hoisted off the ground by the one responsible for everything that's happened today. He tries to break free, punching Freeza's arm with his only remaining hand to no avail, the tyrant doesn't even budge.

"Now that your little resistance is finished, let's get down to the real reason I'm here." He brings Piccolo's face closer to his own. "How do I contact Goku and Vegeta?

"Go... To... Hell-" Piccolo almost chokes on the sudden rush of blood caused by Freeza's blindingly fast punch.

"Where are Goku and Vegeta?" He asks again, his tone darkening.

"Go... To-" He receives another punch, coughing up, even more, blood before being hoisted up even further.

"If you don't tell me, I'll simply kill you then do the same for your friends. Since they're weaker than you, I don't think they'll be able to survive in a single blow of mine, wouldn't you agree?" Piccolo merely keeps coughing. "Besides, as one of the last remaining Namekian's in the universe, you should take your own well being more into consideration.

"The Namekian's are alive..." Piccolo barks back through the blood gurgling in the back of his throat. "We brought them back with the Dragon Balls and you'll never find them... Grand Elder Mori ensured it..."

Instead of being deterred or infuriated, Freeza chuckles, as if he's in on some private, probably sick joke. "Ah yes, New Namek, correct? I destroyed it."

Piccolo can't believe it. "W-what did you just say...?"

Freeza dramatically sighs. "Come now Piccolo, I know you're smarter than this. You know I'm aware of the Earth's Dragon Balls, besides the obvious, what exactly did you thing I used them for?"

"N-no... You couldn't..."

"Oh but I did," Freeza tells him with grim satisfaction. "One thing I've realized with you and your group Piccolo is that you like to cheat, which is all well and good, so have I. But when dealing with a cheater, one must turn the tide in his favor anyway he can, lest you lot will squirm your way to victory. I've done what any intelligent being should when dealing with your particular group, Piccolo...

"...I leveled the playing field."

Earlier, New Namek

As they always do, the three suns orbiting New Namek shine brightly upon the green planet. Bathing it, and it's equally green inhabitants in its warm and bright lights. The Namekian people, enjoying their mundane but peaceful existences as they always do. But today, something special is happening, the birth of the Grand Elders seventh child, the latest addition to their small but slowly growing community.

They all stand outside the home of Grand Elder Moori, barring their brother Cargo who's with their leader to aid him in the process anyway he can. Such a gathering was rarely possible until well into the rule of the previous Elder Guru, as he alone had to repopulate their species. Now, however, their latest brother shall be welcomed into the world with his large family there to greet him with open arms.

As all Namekian's, Moori gives birth to his latest child in the form of spitting out his egg which Cargo gently places on the ground before him. The old Namekian leans back in his chair, panting from to the stressful process of reproducing. Despite this fatigue, he quickly asks. "Is the child well?"

Cargo examines the egg closely, looking for cracks or possible issues. To his relief, he can find none. "He is well Grand Elder and should be with us very, very soon," Cargo smiles and rubs his latest brother's temporary home.

Moori sighs, relieved to hear this news. "Summon the others brother, we must ensure all are here to welcome him."

Nodding in agreement, Cargo leaves the building and moments later returns with many of New Namek population in toe. The oldest of them take point with Moori's own children with them, the others who can fit in entering while half must be left outside as there is no more room. They form a circle around the egg just as it begins to crack, the youngest looking in excitement while the elders observe with pride.

The top of the egg slowly shatters, breaking away to reveal a health, young and sleeping Namekian curled up inside. Moori, with some assistance from Cargo, gets off the throne and reaches into the egg, taking the slumbering babe in his hands. "Today is a day of celebration! The celebration of life in all its beauty as we welcome a new member into our small but strong fold. A new brother with who shall henceforth be known as-"

The sudden and violent shaking of the ground nearly causes Moori to fall over were it not for Cargo's timely assistance. Cracks soon form beneath them with the Namekian's rushing out of the building as quickly as possible, helping their Elder and the younglings out. The situation outside is no better with gargantuan cracks forming with the intensifying of the quivering. A torrent of lava bursts out of a crack from a nearby hill, destroying the planets and swallowing its surroundings.

"What is the meaning of this?" Asks one of the Namekian's as more and more cracks appear with lava bursting through, quickly filling the sky with the ash and blotting out the sun's. The lava reaches them with a 10-meter high fountain bursting from one of the cracks, burning a handful of them alive. They scream in pain as the molten rock burns through their flesh and bone as if they were nothing, causing the observing children to cry and scream in horror.

"It is as Elder Guru feared, another Cataclysm." Ponders Moori out-loud before addressing the others. "My brothers! We must get to safety at once or all is lost!"

The Namekian's calm down and promptly take the wounded and children into their arms before flying away just as the lava burns away their cropping fields and homes. Moori hopes he and the others can reach their Dragon Balls in time to use their power and at the very least, save his people. As per his instructions, all were placed near his village under a vault in case a similar situation to the original Namek's destruction occurred again.

With heavy hearts, he and the others watch the Cataclysm ravage their planet, turning the sky blood red as thunder and lightning occur all around them. Their hard work destroyed many years in the making undone in mere minutes, yet hope returns to them as they spot the hill, still intact with only some cracks from the earthquake here and there. Just as they reach it, however, to their horror the entire hill explodes like a volcano, unleashing an ocean of lava in all directions.

"No..." Mutters Moori horrified as he watches their only hope being vaporized by the heat of the molten rock. Panic soon consumes the Namek's with a handful scattering away to seek for shelter, another arguing while some remain silent, too devastated to do anything. Moori himself merely looks at the newly born baby in his hands and despite the grave situation smiles upon seeing the boy looking up at him. "I'm sorry brother, truly I am..."

And so the devastation persists with the ocean evaporating from the temperature, the ground vanishing under the lava's relentless assault. Today was a special day, one of celebration. Now, it will be remembered as they day the Namek people once again fell to the nefarious Freeza as the core finally dies, erasing New Namek and everyone single life form on it from existence.

"How do I raise the stakes for this?" Is something I wondered about when planning this out, and fairly early I reached the conclusion of if you wanna raise the stakes, blow Namek the fuck up! I honestly wasn't expecting this to be this long and while I'm not feeling the early parts, I think it ultimately ended at a satisfactory quality overall.

Now we get to the battle everyone's been waiting for next chapter! The Goku & Vegeta VS Freeza! Some of you might be wondering if either of them will take turns against their revived enemy and the answer is no. Once they see and hear everything he's done, Goku and Vegeta aren't going to mess around with their usual bullshit of "We can't work together!" or "True Saiyan's fight one on one!" like they did in FnF.